Corporate

Silver Bull Resources, Inc. is a Canadian based mineral exploration company which was engaged in exploring and developing the "Sierra Mojada" project, located in Coahuila, Mexico. The project is part of a large land package consisting of 20 mining concessions totalling 9,530.4 hectares , located in a historical high-grade silver, lead, zinc mining district discovered in 1879. The project has a NI 43-101 compliant Global resource of 70.4 million tonnes of measured and indicated silver and zinc oxide resources. Grading is at 3.4% zinc and 38.6 g/t silver for 5.354 billion pounds of zinc and 87.4 million ounces of silver.

Within the Global Resource, discreet high-grade zones of the silver and zinc mineralization occur and include:

  • A high grade measured and indicated "Zinc Zone" of 13.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 11.2% Zinc at a 6% cutoff for 3.336 billion pounds of zinc.
  • A high grade measured and indicated "Silver Zone" of 15.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 114.9 g/t at a 50g/t cutoff for 56.3 million ounces of silver.

In addition to these resources, Silver Bull also made a discovery of silver-zinc and silver-copper sulphide mineralization. Preliminary drilling shows the sulphide mineralization to be of a much higher grade for both silver and zinc, as well as copper, meaning its value per metric ton is significantly higher than the oxide. Additionally, the sulphide mineralization is expected to have a more attractive metallurgical process, which means that it will be easier and more cost-effective to extract the metals from the ore. Minera Metalin was in the process of executing on its exploration drilling program of the sulphide mineralization when, in September 2019, members of a local cooperative illegally blockaded the site. Silver Bull has been unable to access the project site and conduct exploration ever since. As a result, the size and scope of the sulphide deposit is not yet well understood, but the discovery of this zone highlights the need for continued exploration of the property, as it would likely have a significant impact on the economics of any mining project.

Despite numerous demands and requests for action, Mexican authorities have allowed the illegal blockade to continue. As such, they failed to protect Silver Bull’s investment and breached several provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

On March 2, 2023, Silver Bull filed with the Mexican government a Notice of Intent to initiate a legacy North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) claim under Annex 14-C of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to recover economic damages resulting from the illegal blockade of its Sierra Mojada project.

Silver Bull will be seeking to recover no less than US$178 million in damages that it has suffered as a result of Mexico’s breach of its NAFTA obligations.